Andy Crestodina over at Orbit Media Studios is one of the content marketers who really gets it. When I found out that Andy had conducted a survey of more than 1,000 bloggers about the specifics of how they work, I knew that I wanted to get a post together to share our takeaways from the survey.

Good content takes time. It’s a lot of work. And it can be hard to put the time in when we have deadlines and publishing calendars to meet.

This tension is built into the lives of all content marketers. Every blogger and every content creator is looking for that balance between quality and quantity. All of us.

So how much time and how much work does it really take?

Let’s dig into some specifics from the Orbit survey and see what we can glean.

The quality factor

The first thing the data shows is a huge difference in the amount of time spent per post among bloggers.

54 percent of bloggers spend fewer than 2 hours on a typical post

Just 5.5 percent of bloggers spend 6+ hours per post

The survey shows other big differences in what people put into their content.

Only 15 percent of bloggers have a formal editing process

4.9 percent of bloggers write 1500+ words in a typical post

Less than half of bloggers use multiple images

14.7 percent are adding video

In case you’re curious, on Copyblogger the typical post takes about 5-7 hours to create (sometimes quite a bit more), but that work is spread out over several content creators. Because we have the luxury of an editorial staff, we have a multi-stage editorial process in addition to the time that the original writer spends on each post.

If you don’t have a team of writers, don’t worry. Solo content creators can absolutely create excellent content, and some of the most wonderful blogs on the web are produced by individuals.

One key is to give yourself enough time to create quality work. Strong writing is a product of many factors, but those factors always include time for proofreading, editing, fact-checking, and rewriting.

Make the commitment to producing your content in several phases — a draft phase, an editing phase, a fact-check phase, and a final “picky” proofreading phase.

The Rule of 24 is an excellent one for every writer. Allow at least 24 hours between your draft phase and your editing phase whenever humanly possible.

In order to make this happen, we have to get real about the quantity of content you’ll be able to produce.

The quantity factor

You can probably guess that those who are spending six hours per post aren’t likely to be posting every day.

Here’s a partial breakdown of the post frequency among the bloggers who were surveyed:

54 percent of bloggers are publishing at least weekly

32 percent publish more than once per week

3.3 percent publish daily

The good news is that most bloggers are actually consistent. They’re getting the job done. Most bloggers are publishing a lot of content.

When we go deeper into the data, it’s clear that the biggest bloggers aren’t usually the most frequent bloggers. (Not including large, multi-author blogs like Copyblogger.)

Only 4.3 percent of the bloggers who publish weekly are spending 6+ hours per post. In the trade-off between quality and quantity, they’ve made a choice.

Every content creator makes that choice. The question goes something like this:

What’s better: a solid weekly post or a monthly masterpiece?

Frequency is important, right?

Ideally, your content frequency is aligned with the length of your sales cycle. If it takes two weeks for your prospect to discover you, learn to trust you, and fall in love with you (or go hire your competitor), it seems that you’d better publish at least weekly — monthly won’t cut it.

A monthly post that your reader remembers (and shares) is worth a lot more than a weekly post they’ll forget. A memorable monthly article beats four soft weekly posts every time.

If you do decide to cut back on your publishing schedule in order to boost quality, I always recommend you put a really good email autoresponder sequence in place. That will serve the role of nurturing the lead until she’s ready to buy from you — holding her attention (and building your credibility) until the buyer is ready to make her decision.

Email marketing consistently proves itself as the most effective online method for moving an audience through attraction and interest and on to a purchase. And an email autoresponder is the way to use terrific content to make email much more effective.

Will you be average or awesome?

Most bloggers spend around 2.5 hours writing 800-word posts and publish weekly. They share it on social media (94 percent) and move on to the next post. Only half check analytics on a regular basis.

Is this what excellent looks like?

Andy and I both want to throw down a challenge for you:

Just maybe we can get away with higher quality. Maybe we can add the research, the audio, the polish. Maybe we can put more time and thought into our content. Maybe we can check our analytics to see if our content is hitting the mark.

Related Stories

Internet Marketing Products

Affiliate Tools HQ Membership SiteA Membership Site For Online Marketers Who Are Serious About Making Money Online. Developed By Respected Online Marketers, Paula And Wanda, From Affiliate Blog Online.

CPA Method Core SPECIAL14 Year Old kid cracks into a new internet marketing goldmine and banks daily from the travel industry. Find out how...

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will add value to our readers.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Make Money Online

BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD: 15 JOBS TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE - YouTube

The 20 Rules of Money

Internet Marketing Training

Over the last several days, if you’re lucky enough to be on my list, you’ve received several educational emails about the power of belief and how to make your first money online. You see a lot of successful business people who manage to create success after success after success. Some big name industry titans even …

How To Build a Loyal Audience to Generate Inspiration From Within Your Community

Internet Marketing Products

CPA Method Core SPECIAL14 Year Old kid cracks into a new internet marketing goldmine and banks daily from the travel industry. Find out how...

Affiliate Tools HQ Membership SiteA Membership Site For Online Marketers Who Are Serious About Making Money Online. Developed By Respected Online Marketers, Paula And Wanda, From Affiliate Blog Online.